Nostalgia of the Innocent
by suiei
Summary: REWRITE HIATUS It is 500 years after the Meteor incident, and an autocratic, military government is resurrecting Sephiroth to get at the greatest weapon of the Ancients. NO SephOC. RR!
1. It Begins Again

My very first FFVII fanfic! I'm so happy! Please give it just a little time: it _will_ be much more of an obviously FFVII fic in the next couple of chapters. It's 500 years in the future - I don't think Cloud can live that long. In the meantime, please read!

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII (duh), Sephiroth, etc. No matter how much I want to own him, Square-Enix just ain't gonna give him up. So, I don't own anything you recognize as having been part of Shinra, the Meteor incident, etc., but I DO own anything you don't recognize. OK? Yay! I don't want any lawyers on my doorstep or they'll get introduced to my version of the Masamune.

Please feel free to leave a review. Even flames are good - just please make sure you've got proper grammar while doing so. 'Tis FanfIC SUXXX!' does not qualify.

* * *

"Okay! Lift it up!"

The serenity of the nighttime mountain was being rudely interrupted by a single solitary outpost with strobe lights and busy activity.

The site was big, circular, and surrounded by heavily reinforced steel fencing. At the center of the site was its reason for being, currently a gaping maw in the rock. A large crane-like mechanism leaned over it.

People and machinery buzzed around the mined out crater like flies, but now the chilly atmosphere was electrified by an undercurrent of anticipation.

"Just a little more!" the overseer, a stocky colonel with a fat face, shouted. "God damn it, not so _fast_!"

The man working the huge crane hurried to fix his mistake.

"Hold it! That's great, swing it over to the truck!" the colonel said into his radio.

The great load of ice dangling from the crane's pincers groaned, and everyone froze and held their breath.

Slowly, it rose into the air, dropped down, and the pincers danced in the air like they were no heavier than paper.

When the load hit the truck, it bounced, but settled without blowing anything. The engineers had done a fine job with calculations.

Colonel Pershing let out the sigh of air he'd been holding. He put the radio to his lips, thinking he'd rather be anywhere but here.

"Get a team down there, ASAP. I want security reconfirmed, a total sweep of the outside perimeter for a mile and a half. Shoot _anything _that moves. We're in, boys."

* * *

It was snowing. _Again_.

Seventeen-year-old Rue Kaiser sat at her school desk, staring out the window at the flat, gray sky. It seemed to her that the monotonous, nearly continuous snowfall in the Northern Mountains was a lot like her life.

Boring, and never going to change or get any more interesting.

It spoke volumes for the merits of suicide.

Maybe when I die I'll be reborn as a guy, and then I'd be able to have a little fun, Rue thought blandly as she stared outside.

It wasn't that women weren't free to as they wished, but they weren't able to join the Military. And to Rue (and her peers), the Military represented freedom.

"Rue? _Rue_! Ms. Kaiser!"

Rue jumped, and looked up at her teacher sheepishly.

"Sorry," she muttered. Great, now where _are_ we?

"Page fifty-three, first paragraph," Landon whispered over his shoulder.

I'll thank him later, Rue thought. She went and found the page while the teacher made some offhand comment about how Rue should pay attention if she wanted to pass the test.

What Rue read promptly left her mind the second she finished it. The subject wasn't hard, anyway. The government harped on the Meteor incident so much she was surprised she wasn't bleeding it through the nose.

Rue fell back into lethargy.

Outside, the world passed by quietly, in perfect line.

The little Mag cars whined down the roads, electronic guidance systems processing directions and bringing their occupants to their destinations. 'Driving' was archaic, something only Rue's late, senile great-grandfather had remembered dimly.

When the bell rang to leave, it barely registered in Rue's mind until Carrie, her friend, prodded her in the arm.

"Hey! You spaced out all class. What's up?"

Rue's mind stalled a little.

"I was thinking…"

"_Thinking_? About _what_? By the way, what'd you make on your SLE's?"

"Ah…a seventeen," Rue admitted, gathering her things.

"Really? _Wow_! You're smart."

"Thanks," Rue muttered. She didn't want to talk about test scores.

"I made a fifteen. Mom's really happy with me."

"Hn," Rue said, and followed Carrie down the hall.

"But what were you thinking about?"

"About how I'm going to be stuck here until Doomsday," Rue said bitterly.

"No you won't!"

"Yeah, I will. The Agency only takes the most smart people, I'm not even in the top fourth of the class. And you _know_ the Military won't take me."

"Unless you shave your head, but"

"And they don't give passes to anyone who doesn't _have_ to have one."

"But I bet Mizuki'd help you out! Outside of the Blue Ribbons, you're the likeliest to get out of this Hellhole."

Rue sighed.

"_Right_," she agreed sarcastically. "And out of nowhere, my knight in fucking shining armor is going to ride in here and carry me away. Yeah, like _that's_ going to happen. Its as likely as…"

Rue trailed off, unable to find a comparison.

"Rue?"

"What?"

They now stood outside the school, mostly undisturbed by the freezing temperatures they'd grown up in, and ignoring the snow.

"Race you to the ice cream store," Carrie challenged.

Rue stared at her.

"Ice cream? It's like, twenty below."

"By the time we get there, we'd be warm enough," Carrie said, and flipped her curly black hair over her shoulder. She grinned wickedly.

"It's icy."

"When've you given a damn about _that_?" Carrie retorted, acting shocked with her friend.

Rue considered for a moment. Go home and be miserable, or go to the ice cream place with Carrie and be entertained for a few golden hours.

They stood at the top of the stairs, other students milled about around them.

"Carrie…"

Carrie waited patiently, as Rue turned to face the stairs.

"_Loser pays_!" Rue shouted, suddenly springing down the steps and shooting off across the snow covered lawn.

It didn't take Carrie long to wake up.

"_Get back here_!" she yelled, and leapt after Rue.

* * *

The pair of girls almost fell into the pastel colored shop, laughing hysterically as the paler, brown haired girl proclaimed victory with relish.

"_You cheated_!" Carrie accused between gasps.

They stumbled into the front counter, still laughing.

"You're just mad 'cause you _lost_!" Rue retorted, and turned to the guy behind the counter. "Lime sherbet cone, please."

"Regular cone?"

"Yeah. Regular size."

"Alright," he replied.

"I'd like a double chocolate small sprinkle cone," Carrie said. "And our orders are gonna be together."

Carrie turned to me.

"You want to spend the night this weekend?"

"Thought you had some band thing all weekend," Rue replied distantly, staring at the many vats of ice cream.

"Yeah, but I'm not going," Carrie said flippantly. "Teacher's an ass."

Rue smirked. One or two run-ins had been enough to convince her that Carrie's band director was actually either an alien, or a devil.

"Was he mad?"

"_Furious_," Carrie affirmed gleefully. "You should have seen it."

"Somebody should have got it on tape," Rue said.

"Anyway. Did I tell you that Leon asked me out?"

Rue gave her friend a skeptical look.

"You're kidding, right?"

"I said no," Carrie said, and handed over her credcard to the cashier.

"That's good," Rue replied. "I wouldn't trust him."

"Me either," Carrie agreed. "People like him don't go out with people like us unless they're looking for a couple of laughs."

"Didn't your cousin get strung along like that?" Rue asked, as the two girls sat in a two person booth next to the front window.

"Yeah," Carrie said. "But she doesn't like to talk about it, so I don't know what happened."

"You know, just because they're 'going somewhere' doesn't give them a right to make idiots of the rest of us," Rue said bitterly.

"_They _think so," Carrie replied icily.

"Test scores aren't _everything_!"

"You're preaching to the choir," Carrie reminded her. She spooned more ice cream into her mouth.

"Changing the subject. What'd you think you made on that pop quiz?" Rue asked.

"In Partridge's class? Oh, don't get me started. I bombed it. What do you think you did?"

"I don't know," Rue said. "But I read the chapter a little after I took it and saw a couple of answers I got wrong. Like that guy who went insane - that was Sephiroth. I put Shinra. Go figure. There's at least two answers I screwed up on."

Both girl's heads lifted at a familiar shrilling scream. An alert; the Military had entered the area.

"Don't tell me there's another Mako leak?" Carrie muttered.

"Why don't they just revamp the whole system? It'd save a lot of money in the long run."

"Because they're idiots," Carrie replied. "We'd better finish up pretty quick."

"Yeah, I don't want to explain that 'All I was doing was eating ice cream, sir' and get dragged back home under armed guard," Rue said, and finished the last chunk of sherbet in one wolf.

The other patrons of the shop were getting up and leaving, too. The Military had absolute authority, and unquestioned right to block off and barricade a section of space if they wanted to.

The two of them ate their cones quickly, and left the store without a word.

The only sound on the streets were the slow moving military trucks, that roared around with too much torque and not a lot of speed.

Whatever this leak was doing, it was big, Rue thought. Or else there wouldn't be so many troops here.

All things concerning Mako and energy supply were handled by the Military. It was all closely guarded, and although it certainly occurred to ask why, no one Rue yet knew had been so stupid.

Rue had seen too many troops to care to look at these.

"This is going to make it such a pain in the ass to get back home," Rue commented.

"If it's too much of a pain in the ass, just stay over at my house," Carrie said.

"_Overnight_?"

"Yeah, your parents'd understand if you couldn't get back past the Military's block off," Carrie said. "Come on. My mom's making spaghetti tonight."

Rue considered.

"…No, I can't," she said, finally. "My mom wants me home tonight to clean. I've been putting it off."

"But we're talking the _Military_ here, Rue! If you fuck up and go where you're not supposed to, who knows what'll happen!"

"Bah, I'll just take my shortcut," Rue replied. "I've taken it before when there's a leak and I'm late, and there's never been a problem."

"…You sure? This looks like a big one…"

"I'm sure. Besides, I know those back alleys pretty well." The two stopped at a street corner. This corner was where their trips home split.

"Okay, then. I'll see you!"

"Bye!" Rue said, and waved as they parted ways.

Rue turned soon after that into a less populated, less wide street that was lined with snow covered awnings and boarded up windows.

For the most part people were heading in the opposite direction than Rue, but that was normal.

She ignored everyone else, but found the little inlet to the mazelike inner city alleys that crisscrossed the oldest parts of the town.

They hadn't been intended for humans, and were very narrow.

Rue squeezed herself through, and stumbled out into the more navigable inner alleys. These were decent enough for a human to pass through if they didn't mind narrow paths and towering walls around them.

"Okay, turn right at the red arrow and straight on until you see the Barrows Tower," she muttered to herself, reciting directions she knew in her sleep.

* * *

Right, then. Chapter numero uno. Ichi-ban, une. What _ever_. It's done.

I'm very displeased with lousy half-assed new formatting system, since it screws up with my scene breaks. Why is that, hmm? Lousy fucking losers. Just load it to the page the way the author _wanted _it!

But, anyway. I guess I must explain myself. Sephiroth IS in existence at this time - but I'm not going to have him burst forth from the Lifestream without any apparently good reason like some rather strange parody of The Littler Mermaid. Sephy-chan is currenly experiencing the effects of rigor mortis. I'm not a fast writer. Like in cooking (what the hell do I know about cooking, but it's a good analogy anyway) rushing is gonna kill it. But the reason I've got my OC starting out the fanfic is that while **_she's NOT IMPORTANT TO THE MAJOR, MAIN PLOT OF THE STORY_**, she is one of the supporting characters who sets events in motion. Oh and please don't ask me if she's going to be revealed as some descendant of an Ancient who nobody knew existed. The game _explicitly _said Aerith was the last ancient - well, half Ancient anyway. Sephy gets to have all the distinction.


	2. In the Wrong Place

For future reference (for those who care) I'll be updating once a week if I can.

I'm really irritated, my dad has lost all of my CDs and is denying it entirely...fucking hell...my whole Bebop CD collection is gone...and I had them all...real mature, daddums.

Disclaimer: (Must I really keep doing this? Ah, simple amusements...) Do I look like I bloody well own FFVII? If I did, somebody would have discovered pictures of Sephy-sama in the shower, and they would have been viewable. Hehehe...no, really. I'm not a freak. And I don't own FFVII.

**Replies to Reviews**: (And I thank all of y'all who do!)

**Kina-chan**: Thank you! No, Cloud and co. won't be appearing in any form to do with _reincarnation _since IMO that's a cheap excuse to create an AU and still keep from having to come up with a unique plotline. But to give you a definitive answer on that would ruin the plot, so...can't tell ya. Rue is not the main protagonist, Sephiroth is. But he's not here, yet. He _will _be, I swear. As for an OC pairing...I'm really still debating over that. I'm just not sure whether I'd want to mess with that, but I'm leaning towards the negative. Unless people want me to, but then most people are very sensitive to pairing characters like Sephiroth to an OC. If I do, I'll try my best!

Have fun, y'all...BTW, this story is not being written 'per chapter.' I'm writing it as one big story to keep it flowing, and then breaking it up at places where it wouldn't be jarring.

* * *

Familiar landmarks quickly came into view as Rue slipped along the alleys, as she kept to the path she knew. There had always been one place where she always managed to forget to turn, but Rue had remedied that a while ago with an old sign with a faded red arrow.

…Which wasn't there anymore.

Rue stopped, knowing innately where to turn but still confused.

"Where'd my sign go?" she asked blankly, staring at where it was supposed to be. She shook her head. It really didn't matter, she didn't need it anymore anyway.

She walked off to the right.

"Probably just under the snow or something," she muttered. She hadn't nailed it, or anything like that. She'd just leaned it against the wall. Maybe it fell over?

As Rue trotted along, her steps crunched into the new fallen snow. The route she took was shallower than the rest of the alleys by nature; since she walked through it she made herself a path.

She stopped at an intersection where a wide alleyway crossed with her route. Some of the alleys were larger, because a small portion of the alleys had been part of the city in the distant past, and thus were wide enough for cars and that kind of thing.

The snow had been disturbed, but there had been new snow over it so it wasn't so obvious. Rue had never heard of anyone using the back alleys before, unless she took her friends through them or they used them once they'd learned how. Every once in a while the newspapers did an expose on it and there was renewed interest to do something with them, but nothing ever came of it.

Probably just…some activist group again, she thought. Knowing the Military was in the area made Rue nervous.

_No_, if they were here, there'd be new tracks, she thought. She put a hand to the cold steel wall to her left, and leaned forward.

Rue glanced to the side, staring down the wide alleyway. It was mostly empty and a straight way.

Then heard a noise that made her heart almost stop.

A low rumbling, not unlike a diesel truck.

Activists _don't _have diesels, she thought, her face paling considerably, and staring in shocked horror as a low, wide tank like vehicle rumbled into view far down the wide alley. It was small from where she stood.

_Shit_!

Rue jerked her head backwards.

If they see me, I'm _screwed_, she thought and ran back further into the narrower alleys.

The truck was slow moving.

Rue pressed herself up against the wall, just out of sight.

Should I just go back the way I came, she thought. No, it'd take too long, and I'm almost through the alleys…I'll just wait for the truck to go by and then I'll…

Rue wasn't very familiar with the sounds engines made, but something seemed off…

"_Alright, men_! _Everyone out_!"

The voice was faint, but it was audible. Rue shrank back, horrified.

What am I going to do _now_!

Rue knew she couldn't just stand there, that was a guarantee she'd be caught. If I go left, they're to the left, and if I go right, that tank thing's gonna come that way! And I can't just go back, 'cause…

Rue turned around and ran back the way she came. There had been no trouble back that way…

Rue skidded to a stop when she heard the sound of voices barking orders.

Without waiting to gauge how far away the voices were, Rue took off to her left. _Shit_, how do I get out!

Rue ran along the small alley, kicking through the knee-deep snow in a half-hysteric effort to get away. She passed by an alley, and out of the corner of her eye caught a hint of darkness sliding along parallel to her route. It was the dark green of the soldier's uniforms.

Rue threw herself to the left again, and struggled desperately down a dark, two-foot wide corridor.

If they catch me; if they _catch _me I'm _dead_! Rue thought, sickly realizing that, if she were caught, she'd be killed.

Without looking, Rue threw herself into the wide alley which she'd just run from.

Momentarily terrified, Rue jerked her head up and looked up and down the bright corridor. There was no sign of the diesel tank-thing, thank the gods.

And no voices to tell where the soldiers had got to, either.

Where _am _I?

She heard voices, though they weren't so loud. They were pretty close.

Rue ran along the side of the wide alley, spun around a snow covered ancient dumpster, and glanced over her shoulder just in time to see a soldier step into the alley too a few hundred yards behind her.

She pressed herself up to the back of it, panting.

What am I gonna do _now_? She thought.

The marching was getting closer.

Out of options, scared, and with an entrance to the alleys too far away to get to, Rue spun around and squeezed herself painfully between the dumpster and the side of the wide alley. She couldn't breathe, but that didn't matter.

Rue pulled her self down to her side desperately, pushing and choking down any noise she might make, and then forced herself underneath the dumpster.

I'm going to _die_! Why did I do this? Why didn't I just go home with Carrie? _Why_? Rue thought miserably, as she lay upside down, huddled and almost choking.

She flinched as the solid trotting of foot soldiers pounded into the snow covered concrete. They were patrolling this area for civilians.

Not spies, although they were a possibility as well. _Civilians_.

"Sector 3 is clear, sir," said a loud and confident voice. "Permission to return?"

The quality of the radio was good enough that Rue could understand the reply.

"_Negative. Sensors still indicate the presence of a civilian_."

_Civilians…_

Rue's blood ran cold.

"Sir, I repeat. We searched the area thoroughly. There's no one here." He sounded exasperated.

"_Red Three, when the sensors indicate the presence of a civilian, there's a damn civilian somewhere. Find him_!"

"Yes, sir," the voice replied. He must have shut off the radio then because his next statement was, "Fucking asshole. I'd like to put a boot up his ass."

There was a collective round of grunting laughter.

"Well, you heard the prick. Let's go," the man ordered, and after a few moments of clatter and noise his group trotted away from Rue's hiding place.

I…have _got_ to get out of here, she thought.

But Rue couldn't move. She didn't want to risk leaving her safe haven, but she also knew good and well they'd find her eventually if she stayed.

The minutes were dragging on like years, and Rue shifted a little. She didn't want to think about what kind of slime didn't freeze at these temperatures.

You've got to at least _try_ to get out of here, she thought to herself. It's better than being dragged out from under here and being shot!

Rue swallowed nervously as she watched the strip of light at the edges of the dumpster. There was no noise she could hear, except far off.

You have no choice, Rue! Get _up _and try to save your own damned life!

"…_Go_," she hissed to herself.

Rue slithered backwards, and slid out from behind the dumpster. She glanced around.

There was no one in sight either way she looked.

Rue started to slip along the wall again, trying to remember where she was in this maze. She'd changed course and had gotten herself terribly lost.

Her mind was racing ahead of itself trying to work out her location, and so far she was having no luck.

Is that the…? No, I've never seen that before! Omigod, where _am _I!

Rue's heart nearly stopped when she heard the sound of men's voices. She froze for half a moment to confirm that they were running, and getting closer.

She stumbled forward, throwing herself into a breakneck run.

They were getting closer - right behind her -

Rue flinched and choked down a scream as the brick just above her head seemed to explode when gunfire roared into it.

She slid around a sharp corner, sprinting blindly down dark alley lined with boarded up awnings.

They were right behind her, and Rue threw herself into a loose looking door just in time to feel the back of her coat thrown to the side by the force of a bullet.

She staggered into the dark, boarded up building, and searched wildly for a place to hide. It was ghostly and only half lit.

"_Freeze_!"

Rue spun around on her heel, and stumbled backwards, falling into a concrete pole. She leaned against it for support and looked up at her pursuers.

Four of them stood before her, and one stood on either side, guns trained on her head.

"I give up," she mumbled uselessly, too tired to be hysterical. She lifted her hands in a faithless gesture of surrender. She was shivering.

"Name, number," one of the soldiers demanded. His voice was the same clear one that argued with the man on the radio.

Rue's eyes drifted across the men in front of her.

"Rue…Kaiser, number AQ711-62," she replied stiffly.

The soldier who asked her reached for the radio attached to his belt, then paused. He seemed to look up at her and regard her for a few moments with cold gray eyes.

"Rue Kaiser, did you say?" he asked.

"Yes," Rue affirmed. "My name's Rue Kaiser"

"No relation to Elric Kaiser?" he interrupted.

At this Rue looked up at the soldier, shocked.

"He's…my cousin," she admitted. He's not here, is he? Oh, god, I hope not…

The soldier's fingers stalled on the buttons of his radio. Then made his decision.

"Zero this is Red Three. Target confirmed and captured."

"_Affirmative_."

"Permission to return to base," the soldier replied.

"_I don't see any other civvies, be my guest,_" came the sarcastic reply.

The soldier slid the radio back into its little case.

"Face the wall. Hands behind your back," he ordered sharply, as if he were talking to one of his own men. "_Move_!"

Rue turned around cautiously, and jerked spastically when she felt herself shoved against the wall, hands yanked behind her.

They weren't gentle in tying her wrists together, nor did they particularly care if it cut off circulation.

One of the soldiers grabbed her by the arm and yanked her roughly around, so that she was standing facing the rest of the group.

The soldier with the gray eyes nodded in satisfaction.

"Let's go," he said sharply.

* * *

What the Military had transformed into a base of operations had once been a small office building that displayed a stylized shield and laurel crown logo on its lobby floor.

The old office building hadn't been used in decades, but the building was still sound and made of reinforced concrete that had weathered exceptionally well.

A few soldiers were still standing around sneezing in the haze of dust, but they looked up when a squad of men trotted in, dragging with them a girl, whose pale face was stricken.

Colonel Pershing immediately strode out to meet them on the old marble motif, and as the men fanned out to allow the officer to stare the girl in the face; his eyes were cold and appraising.

"Explain yourself," he commanded harshly. "What were you doing in a restricted zone?"

"I…_I_…"

The girl was scrabbling for an explanation.

"_Well_?" Pershing demanded.

"I was trying to get home," she whispered sorrowfully, and stared at the floor at Pershing's feet. Tears had gathered quickly in her eyes.

No hint of pity or understanding lit in the colonel's eyes. Only irritation.

"Lock her up somewhere; I don't have time for this right now," he said. "Take her over to comm."

"Sorry, sir. Why not just shoot her?" came a rather snide, flippant voice from the side. "S'what happens to all the rest, anyway."

The girl gasped, and glanced uneasily at Pershing. She gasped again, a ragged sob for breath. She staggered backwards, turning deathly pale, and one of the soldiers grabbed to catch her before she fell. Her head lolled backwards, and her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

"I thought words couldn't hurt you," the soldier commented blandly, as if he were only vaguely amused with the sight of a fainted prisoner.

"Just get the brat _out _of here," Pershing snapped. He made a perfect about face, and stalked back to his command post in the large glass-enclosed office to the back of the lobby.

The gray eyed soldier, Lieutenant Gerry Weiss, didn't linger in telling his men to pick the girl up - _gently_! - and three of them carried her as if she were some kind of ritual sacrifice over their heads. They went behind Lt. Weiss as he walked ahead of them, eyes locked on the far off skyline.

My _God_, he thought grimly. How am I going to explain this to _Elric_?

Weiss made up his mind then and there. He'd do what he could to keep his friend's cousin alive, Gods willing.

Elric Kaiser had always been a good friend of Weiss'; in fact, it was Elric who Weiss had called when Weiss had received his much-loathed call-up notice, only to discover that Elric had gotten one the very same day. The both of them had spent the entire night drinking cheap alcohol and...

Well, _that _story was better left unsaid.

There was an old helipad that was being used to fly equipment in, and near that was a little concrete bunker with an outdated satellite dish on top that was being referred to as 'comm.'

It was being used for random things, and it would now add prison to its repertoire of uses.

Other soldiers barely looked up as the men carried the girl into the building, and laid her down in a small, empty room. Weiss locked the door and slipped the key into his pocket. Nobody would be desperate enough to get to the girl to break the door down.

Weiss also decided not to post a guard, since the girl wasn't going to be able to dislodge a storm-proofed door.

He needed to call Elric. _Now_.

* * *

Chapter two, yay. Ein his helping me with the chapter by lying on my foot and licking it. Silly doggy.

Think Stargate SG-1 if you want to get an idea of what the soldiers are dressed like. Sue me, sometimes that's the only thing on TV.

I really don't mind if this fic doesn't get any reviews, I'm writing it for my own pleasure. As usual, it looks like I won't...ah, well. I'm happy enough, and I figure no news is good news. If y'all ain't railing at me, I best be grateful.


	3. At the Wrong Time

Want to know something interesting? 'Kernel' is not how you're supposed to pronounce 'colonel.' That's a slang term that's easier to say so we all do. It's supposed to be said like 'co-lon-elle.' Course it hasn't been said that way for a long time since we're all lazy. The things you learn when you're bored, lol.

Omg creepy. I just figured out you could get Barret to ask Cloud out in the game. Eew...I can do yaoi, I just can't do...Cloud and Barret...eewies. Why couldn't Sephiroth randomly appear and date Cloud!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own FFVII, but I do own the concepts and characters that _I _come up with. Get it? Got it? Good. That being said, I'm kidnapping Sephiroth from Square-Enix headquarters and keeping him tied to a bed in my closet. Once I scrape enough money together to get to Japan, of course. So in other words I don't own Sephiroth _yet_!

**Replies to Reviews (thank you to all who do!)**

**Devi** - Thank you for reviewing! Nonono, I'm not offended at all, in fact I'm happy to get constructive criticism. You're right, my writing _is _awkward sometimes and I misuse semicolons. The latter comes from not really knowing how to handle them (I know what it's used for, just hard for me to use it properly.). I used to get in trouble for _not _using it, so I overuse it to compensate sometimes...Grammar is _not _my strong point...blech. _Evil_. The prior comes from reading too much old English, which can really mess with your head, lemme tell ya...it all starts to get mixed up and then you're like...WTF...o.o;;; Not that I can claim that as an excuse, it's just pure habit. I shall try to do better. Yup!

Ok, you've convinced me. Sephiroth will _not _be paired with any OC, since it would be entirely out of character for him.

**Ryu the Youkai** - In looking at the story you posted, I can pretty much guarantee they don't end up the same way, but I think yours is cool and you should continue it.

...And Ein is helping me with the chapter...licking my feet...(shudders...)

* * *

Rue slowly regained consciousness, and when she did, she wished she'd stayed under.

"Where am I?" she muttered, and sort of leaned up on her elbows. She was a little dizzy, and she felt lightheaded. Did I faint, she thought. I don't know…I've never fainted before…

She glanced around, fear rising in her again when she realized it was almost all dark.

I'm not blinded, am I!

She looked around wildly, and then her gaze focused on a thin strip of pale light, and a much paler and harder to see strip of glow that outlined a door-sized rectangle.

The floor felt like bare concrete, and as Rue's vision adjusted she could see the room was empty except for an old desk and a toppled chair. No windows.

She sat up slowly.

"Where…_am_ I?" Rue murmured, and bent a leg up, andleaned her head on her knee.

Her natural instinct was to run at the door and demand to get out. But the memory of how she got here quickly reappeared in Rue's mind. What if they were waiting for her to wake up? It made Rue shudder to think that the Military would be so cruel as to wait for her to _wake up _before they killed her.

This whole situation - this state of being alive - confused her, and that only made it harder to bear.

Her phone rang, almost sending Rue jumping to her feet in sudden fright.

Its happy melody trilled up and down until she wrenched the thing out of her bag.

"Hel - Hello?" she asked nervously. "Who is this?"

Rue hadn't looked at the caller ID before answering.

"Rue? Is that you? Are you okay?"

It was Rue's mother.

"_Mom_!"

"Rue? Ohmygod, are you alright? Carrie called and asked if you'd got home safely, where _are _you!"

"I'm, I'm," Rue stammered. She shifted. "I don't know where I am!"

"What's happened to you? Where _are_ you?" Rue's mother demanded, voice rising.

"I took a shortcut through the restricted zone" Rue started, admitting in misery, but she was cut off.

"You did _what_!" Rue's mother shrieked. "Rue, you _know _not to do that!"

"I thought it was just a regular Mako leak, they've never blocked off that part of the alleys before!"

"Okay, where are you?"

"I don't know, it's all dark and quiet," Rue whimpered. "I think I fainted…"

Rue's mother was quiet for a few moments.

"Well are you _alright_?"

Rue's throat constricted for just a moment and she quickly patted herself down the front, squirming in discomfort as she looked down.

"I'm fine," she said, calm only because her mother was on the phone. "I'm sure."

"Good. You're not hurt or anything?"

"No," Rue said quietly. "Mom, I'm _scared_!"

"I'm sure you are, honey, but calm down."

"Okay…they're going to kill me, aren't they? Because the guy said, the guy said - "

"Calm down," Mrs. Kaiser said firmly.

Rue glanced around nervously. Her phone beeped at her, but Rue ignored it.

"How am I going to get out of here, mom?"

"I don't know, sweetie. You'll be alright, just calm down."

It beeped again.

"Is, is something beeping over there?" Rue asked.

"No," her mother replied. "Why?"

Rue held her phone away and looked at it as it beeped twice at her. A message flashed across the screen, accompanied by a little flashing plug - _LOW BATTERY_.

And then suddenly, it beeped one more time - and the screen fell black. The phone was dead.

"_No_!" Rue cried out, and tried to turn it back on. It wouldn't. "_Mom_!"

She finally flung it away, disgusted. She bit her lip to keep from crying outright.

It was only when she was rubbing furiously at her teary eyes that she noticed that her wrists had been freed. Rue gratitude was only cursory, never to be expressed.

* * *

"Elric you _bastard_! _Answer_!" Gerry Weiss hissed as he glared intensely at the keypad.

The switchboard operator had been less than friendly in informing him it would be 'no easy task' of getting hold of the airship mechanic.

"_Answer_…"

If it had been possible to pace in a phone booth, Weiss would have.

"Who the hell is this? This isn't exactly a - "

"Elric, shut up. This is Gerry," Weiss said quickly.

"_Gerry_? What the - "

"Shut _up _and _listen_!" Weiss snapped. "You have a cousin, right?"

"Yeah," Elric replied, uncertainly. "A few. Why?"

"Is one of 'em named Rue?"

"…Yeah," Elric said. "That's right, you're home. Why? Did you meet her or something?"

Weiss took a deep breath. "She got caught in the restricted zone."

"_What_!"

The Lieutenant winced.

"Is she _alive_?" Elric asked slowly.

"…For now," Weiss said. "I don't know for how long…This isn't a routine job."

"_Shit_," Elric muttered. "There's nothing…?"

Weiss glanced over his shoulder. "…I don't know. Any ideas?"

"None here. Any chance you could sneak her out?"

"To _where_? _How_? She's not a dyke, can't dress her up like a soldier."

Weiss could hear Elric's heaving sigh. "Listen - I'll call you back. Try to think of something."

"Right," Weiss said. "Later."

"Bye."

Lt. Weiss hung up and kicked the door open. _Fuck_, how was he going to get that kid out of here!

Every last inch of his training said she deserved to die for her transgressions. Everyone knew the rules, and generally, everyone obeyed them. It was the stupid ones who died for breaking them. But then there remained the problem that Rue wasn't just another idiot why trespassed. She was his best friend's cousin - and her extended family had been like his own for years.

It'd almost be like killing a relative, he thought morbidly.

* * *

History is written by the victor. It may or may not be the actual truth. Pershing was well familiar with this concept, both as a historian and as a man with his head on the line.

He stared down at the readouts and the report on his desk.

Everything is going well, he assured himself. Your first priority is to locate the damned Materia, let Milne do his job. He's an able commander, top of his class. He won't fail you.

He better not, Pershing countered. Because if he does, we _all_ burn.

Pershing glanced over the papers once more before putting them away.

He had to admit he was getting worried about the mountain operation. Milne hadn't reported in for several days, although one could say no news was good news.

Yeah, well I wish that applied to me, Pershing thought sourly. Ten years of quiet, loyal, and obedient service had apparently earned him the trust he had been hoping to gain in the high echelons. So that in fact he'd been placed in charge of an operation - answerable only to General Plumer himself - that could change the planet as they knew it.

The keys to it laid hidden, obscured in history by a civilization that wanted to move forward and to forget the past.

Rufus Shinra'd had it right, Pershing thought. People are ruled by fear - whether they know it or not. Various subliminal injections of fear were enough to keep most people distracted and content. Of course Pershing wasn't calling the Military's obvious intrusions on its civilian populace subliminal; what happened five hundred years ago was still quite useful, in more ways than one.

'_I'm putting you in charge, Colonel Pershing_.'

Pershing's thoughts drifted into the past. It seemed surreal that at one time he'd sat in Plumer's posh office, and been told that his mission - which was to be carried out by the best the Military had to offer, answering only to the highest of authority - was to locate whatever could be found pertaining to certain events that had transpired five hundred years in the past.

As a historian, Pershing could think of only one event that would so much as spark the interest of the Military.

'_Meteor_?'

Plumer's mouth had curled up as he grinned at Pershing.

'_Exactly. Do you know why Meteor fell on the Planet? Or rather, how it came to fall_?'

'_General Sephiroth summoned it_.'

'_Using _what, _exactly_?' Plumer had asked calmly.

'_The Black Materia_,' Pershing readily replied. '…_Is my mission to locate the Black Materia, sir_?' In Pershing's memory it had sounded as if he were playing a guessing game with his superior.

'_It is. And to locate the body of Sephiroth_.'

Pershing had been shocked. Even if it was _possible_ to find the Black Materia, what made Plumer think a body that had been dead for _five hundred years_; that had died in the worst of terrain and left to rot, would still _be_ there? At _all_?

However, like the good soldier he was, he kept his mouth shut. He accepted the unmarked file given to him without complaint, and marched out of the office not sure whether to be honored or not.

Pershing rubbed his temple.

Now we're _so _close, he thought. After two hellish years of dealing with the science division and faulty records, they were so close they could reach out and touch it - literally, if the scans and readouts were correct Pershing would soon be holding the Black Materia in his own two pudgy hands.

Milne was in charge of locating the body of General Sephiroth. Pershing had no idea why the high command would want the body of a deceased psychopath, the fact his body was most likely decayed past the point it could be recognized as organic notwithstanding.

However, on the bright side, Milne _had _reported a terrific find a few weeks ago. An immensely long, curved katana. It was only the blade, and no guard or handle to speak of as they had rotted away over time, but it _was _the legendary Masamune.

It had remained mountainside to be cleaned and re-sharpened, and to the best of Pershing's knowledge, was now in almost as good a condition as the day it had been forged.

Pershing stood up, and paced back and forth in his office. He'd have to do something about that civilian. He didn't _want _to have her executed, since every time a civilian was caught and executed there was a public outcry. The last time they had actually forced a trial, though it was bought and paid for from the outset.

If this were just a usual operation I could _possibly _just let her off, threaten her to keep her quiet, and black mark her file, Pershing thought. But that's not an option. High command won't tolerate _any _chance of a breach in security.

He sighed, and reached for a little bottle of Aspirin to his left.

* * *

Bah, I keep going over this with a fine tooth comb and no matter what, this damned site ALWAYS manages to fuck up my formatting. So if there's any fuck ups with spacing between words or something, IT AIN'T MY FAULT. It even erased half a sentence one time, and then the random word.

Have you ever heard guys talk amongst themselves? They cuss and use the worst language has to offer.

A little short, I know, and I bet y'all are getting sick of Rue. Bear with me just until the next chapter. Just wait until the next chapter...more will be explained. Woo! The next chapter will be quite long...

I'm sorry for taking so long with it, but here's where the story picks up. I'm just not the kind of author who launches into it from the first word. In the next chapter, murder, mayhem and destruction all wrapped up into one pretty little dormant package. _Yay_!

RR!


	4. Echoes

Right...very interesting, y'all. It'd be nice if you reviewed, even if I'm not looking for the typical "omgomg more!" reviews, they'd be nice since it'd be nice to know SOMEONE was reading this. Even flames would be nice! At least to know someone bothered to look at it.

Apparently there is a movie out called Requiem for a Dream. Um, this story has naught to do with that. I just thought it sounded cool, so it's pure coincidence.

**Disclaimer**: No, I don't own FFVII. I own whoever and whatever I come up with, though. And if you bother stealing (unlikely) any of 'em I will hunt you down. Heh...

Much longer than the last chapter, and, ZOMG! (note: I'm mocking myself, I think that's obnoxious to have a Z there), Sephiroth is in this chapter!

* * *

"So _you're _the one that's been causing us all so much trouble?" the pretty brunette asked, smiling in a rather lopsided manner.

The figure was silent, and its pale, aristocratic features remained motionless; eyes shut. It had very long, strangely silver hair that was swept out of the way and dripped to the ground.

The body was laid out flat on an examining table, naked but under a sheet except for his head.

It had been here for a week or so, and in that time some of the lady doctors - and some of the men, too - had lifted the sheet up ever so slightly just to peek. Well, it was _there_, wasn't he? A more Adonis-like creature had never graced them with its presence, and there wasn't a chance it would wake up on them.

"Eh? _Sephiroth_, right?" the woman continued as if he were awake to talk to. "You know, I've been hearing about you since I was a kid. And you know _what_?"

She squeezed the excess water of the sponge. This was probably her favorite chore now. Sponge bathing the vegetable.

"I'm actually _enjoying _my job for the first time in _twenty years_! Imagine that!"

The woman turned when someone laughed in response.

"Major Milne!" she said. "How are you?"

"Fine," the man standing in the doorway replied. He was imposingly tall. "I'm glad to see this bastard's doing more than just taking up space."

"Um…well…" the woman faltered in her reply. She was an exceptionally brilliant woman, even for a genius, but sometimes had a tendency to be thrown off balance.

Milne strode into the room, gazing at the prone and quite dead body of Sephiroth.

"It's…it's incredible, you know? We know for a fact he's dead, but it looks as if he's just asleep," the woman offered. "It's incredible."

Milne glanced up at the lady scientist. She had been instrumental in locating the body under the ice. "Do you know anything about history, Ms. Finn?" he asked.

"I learned it in school, but I never went into the military so it was never in detail," she said.

"Well then, you wouldn't know the particulars, but…Sephiroth was designed to be the perfect weapon, one factor of this was to be able to heal faster than normal. Cutting his head off would have been one of the few ways to absolutely guarantee he wouldn't survive."

Obviously, Sephiroth's head was still attached to his body.

Why is he giving me a history lesson, Ms. Finn thought.

"Didn't matter how long his body took to regenerate, so long as it did."

"But what's the point…he's _dead_," Ms. Finn pointed out. That was true. Sephiroth was quite cold and clammy. One of the few drawbacks to sponge bathing him was that she'd always had to go and run her hands through warm water to get the icky feeling out of them afterwards.

"It was only just a theory," Milne said. "Since they never actually put a gun to his head and tested it out; but it was thought that with the right stimulation his body could be brought back to life."

Ms. Finn blinked. She was sure she'd heard wrong. "But that's not possible!"

When the body had been brought into the lab, he had been run through every last test and check anyone could think of. There had been no brain activity at all, and no organ activity. He was a dead weight cadaver on ice. Besides that, it was impossible to regenerate brain activity; first of all the internal organs would probably be too damaged, anyway…and that's only the _physical _aspect. There was the Lifestream to contend with, the place where all dead souls went to. And Sephiroth was most certainly dead…

Milne glanced one last time at Sephiroth before turning to leave.

"See that you finish up here quickly," he said.

"Yes, sir," Ms. Finn replied. "I will."

Milne left, leaving Ms. Finn, who still stood staring. She glanced at the body.

Bring him back to _life_, she thought. What a crazy idea! What, did we dig him up to _test _that theory? My god, so _this _is where all my taxes are going to…

Outside in the hall, Milne was intent on reaching one place with as little distraction as possible. His boot heels clicked imperiously on the concrete floor as he carried himself.

He had found General Sephiroth, but was unable to proceed due to faulty machinery. How _typical_, he thought irritably. And yet I can still get Hind clearly! What the fuck is up with _that_?

One would ask why he wouldn't simply ask the base at Red Hind to relay his message. That was simple. Because this mission was on a very need-to-know basis and radio interference did not equate to a good excuse.

He stepped into his office, which was populated by several other people, all crowded around the radio.

"Sir!" his assistant said, and straightened up. He saluted. "Radio contact has been reestablished!"

Milne's head snapped up. "With Linton?"

"Yes, sir. Colonel Pershing is on the line, sir."

Gratefully, Milne put the radio to his mouth.

"Colonel Pershing, sir?" he said.

The connection was scratchy, but Pershing's voice reflected immense relief.

"How are we?" Pershing asked.

"He's in _perfect _condition," Milne reported quickly.

There was pause. Pershing was controlling his emotions. "Excellent, Major. Are we prepared to contain him?"

"Yes, sir."

"_Excellent_. I'm impressed, Major."

"Thank you, sir," Milne said, and smiled to himself. "Should I proceed as planned, sir?"

It was quiet. "Yes. Yes, proceed. I'm sure the leeches are _itching _to work on him," Pershing said a little derisively. "They'll do as good a job today as they will tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," Milne said. "They haven't been getting any sleep over this."

"Well, I just hope one of them doesn't get drunk and try blurting the whole thing," Pershing grunted. "Would be a shame to lose one _now_."

"I agree, sir."

He handed the radio back to his assistant, who glanced at him questioningly. This whole encampment had been informed that if one word of this mission left their lips, the punishment was a quick trip to the firing range - and _not _for practice.

"Sir?" he said.

Milne jerked back to life.

"Scramble this place. Lock down the facility and put the guard on high alert. If someone's _pissing _into the secure zone, I want to know about it. Clear enough?"

The man snapped to attention. "Yes, _sir_!"

"Good man," Milne said, and swept out of the room, feeling it suddenly become very hot.

* * *

Rue Kaiser sat curled up into a ball, trembling.

I'm _never _going to get out of here, she thought sadly. I'm going to _die_! This _can't _be happening to me! Someone's got to come through that door and bring me back home, I just know they've _got _to!

She knew internally that all her thoughts were just wishful things - that nobody was going to come save her. That nobody was going to come through that door with a smile on their face and tell her it was going to be okay.

She was as good as dead to the world. She'd never see her family again, and that when the Military actually got around to remembering she was there, she would be killed. That was the law.

That only made her feel worse, and Rue bit down viciously on her hand to try and keep from crying anymore. It didn't work, and blood dripped down her wrist along with tears.

She sniffled weakly, almost sobbing.

I don't _want _to die! Rue thought childishly, desperately. She put her face in her hands, and choked on a ragged breath as a new wave of tears assaulted her.

Rue was so distracted by her own misery she missed the slight tremor that ran through the building. She wouldn't notice it, they were common there and it was very slight.

It calmed, but then took up again slightly harsher.

This time it distracted Rue enough to make her uncurl and lean back to gain her balance. She put her hands out to steady herself. She looked upwards, tears streaming down her face.

Without warning, the floor suddenly roared and bucked, jerking Rue and throwing her roughly to the side. She fell down in a mess, surprised despite herself.

"_What _the…"

Tremors were not uncommon, even earthquakes were considered normal. But the floor had never _jumped _like that before.

Then it took up again with a punishing force, rocking the building back and forth.

Rue shrieked in confused terror and tried desperately to gain a footing.

Then suddenly it calmed down again, just as quickly as it stopped. For a few seconds, her misery was forgotten. She was almost clinging backwards to the wall.

Rue couldn't have known it, but outside the Military presence had been thrown for a loop. Communications was cut off and the subterranean operations had caved in, creating mass panic.

Rue backed up further to the wall, shocked and confused. What was _that_!

She tensed herself when the shaking began again. This is _not _an earthquake! she realized, fear gripping her heart.

There was a sharp crack and suddenly light slashed into the room. Rue jerked to the side just in time to avoid a chunk of concrete as it crashed into the ground next to her. She stared up in abject horror at the ceiling.

It's going to _collapse_! She realized, gasping. _Omigod_! _No_!

The tremors ceased for a few moments - then began again, viciously shaking and this time showing no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Rue scrambled to her feet, and threw herself to the other side of the room just as more chunks fell to the ground. Muffled shouts made it to her ears but made no difference.

Rue got back up again, kicking away the bouncing pieces of the chair and desk.

Suddenly something snapped, and Rue's head spun around. She watched the door dance and jiggle on its hinges, shriek and break free from its second hinge. Then it suddenly turned at an odd angle and collapsed.

Rue stared in shock, and instinctively lunged for the open exit.

The ceiling roared in fury as it collapsed, showering the room in steel and concrete.

Rue staggered into the hall, desperately trying to locate the exit. She ran towards the sunlight, and threw herself out the entrance.

Men all around her were racing every which way.

Rue stood and stared for a moment, simply stunned by the chaos. The buildings around them, which had stood for so long, had almost been reduced to rubble, victims of their age and sudden mistreatment. A couple of trucks had overturned and soldiers were desperately trying to get to the men.

She glanced around, trying desperately to think what to do and where to go.

A soldier turned around at just that moment, and she stared back at him.

He was shocked for a moment, and then pointed at her, howling though she couldn't hear him over everyone else.

Rue took off running blindly across the helipad, heading away from the soldiers.

Suddenly the ground gave a great heave, and Rue was thrown to the side like a rag doll. She slammed to the ground and rolled, slightly padded by the jacket she wore and the snow. The small of her back sung with pain.

She rolled to her stomach, and dazedly tried to climb to her feet again.

Something bright green was near her face.

She blinked and shook her head. What the hell! Everything was fuzzy and spinning. She blinked and stared down at the shining green liquid.

"_Get the bitch_!"

Rue spun around, and gasped in horror. Soldiers were chasing after her, guns pulled and ready to be fired.

_Go_! _Run_!

She jerked herself back around and lunged to her feet.

The ground again shook violently and suddenly a great spew of the green stuff fired into the air in the distance, like an oil geyser.

Beneath her the concrete suddenly flipped upwards, sending Rue pitching forward, and showering the helipad with a wave of green liquid that rained rocks on the screaming men.

She landed heavily on her stomach, and it knocked the wind out of her. She immediately rolled over, hacking and trying desperately to suck air back into her lungs. The ground beneath her began to shift and slide, and little trickles of the shining green liquid spread over the concrete. It burst and bubbled up into the air, and Rue flinched when it slid against her bare skin.

The ground itself was breaking apart, and Rue scrambled to keep herself from sliding towards the growing pool of green.

She staggered to her feet, and leapt blindly, landing unsteadily with her legs in the green stuff. The concrete suddenly lurched backwards, and Rue lost her footing. She slid down into the green liquid up to her chin. Her feet had no footing, and were churning uselessly.

She shrieked in blind terror, trying to claw her way back up the concrete slab, which had settled at an extreme angle with little chunks of crumbling concrete tumbling down it.

"_Rue_!"

Rue barely heard the voice, but screamed again, spitting out the miserable green goo and kicking for all she was worth to stay afloat. Her fingers had started to bleed.

By now the violent and vicious tremors had quieted to almost nothing, but Rue almost didn't notice a cable fly into her vision, bounce downwards, and plunk into the liquid next to her.

"Hey, catch on!" a voice shouted to her.

"_What_!" she yelled back at them.

"_Grab the fucking rope_!" the voice snarled back at her. "_Hurry_!"

Rue quickly grabbed onto the steel rope and clung to it.

"_Okay_!" she yelled.

She felt herself yanked upwards, roughly. She scraped along the concrete, but that didn't matter. The concrete shifted as she rose higher, and

suddenly slid downwards with a violent crash.

Rue choked back a hacking sob, and she felt hands grab her arms and drag her away.

She collapsed at her rescuer's feet, trembling and out of breath. Even if they _were _the Military, she was alive for now.

"What the hell _is this_, Lieutenant?" someone hissed above her head, voice angry and low.

"I'll tell you what it is - you say a _fucking word _and I'll put a bullet in your head!" a second voice snarled back.

Rue's eyes slid open, and she stared at dirty booted feet. They were slick and had a slight green gloss to them - they'd stepped into the green stuff at some point.

She was tired, and all Rue wanted to do was pass out. Not an option.

"Hey, kid! Damn it, stay awake! This ain't over yet!"

She groaned, and coughed, spitting it out bitterly.

She gazed tiredly at their ankles.

What the hell's _that_, Rue wondered blithely.

It was a small black ball, the size of a really big marble, and it was lying at someone's ankle. It wasn't natural. In stuperous curiosity she reached for it. It was smooth and warm, and fit into her palm. Rue just lay there holding it for a few moments.

"Time to get up," the second voice said. "Keep quiet, kid."

"I can't believe we're _doing _this! If we get caught, Lieutenant - " The third voice was angry.

"We won't _get _caught if you fuckers keep your mouths _shut_," the voice snarled quietly.

Wait, _Lieutenant_?

Rue looked up at the men. The same man from earlier…the one with the gray eyes.

"Who _are _you?" she asked, as she was pulled to her feet.

"Huh? Be quiet, just run," he snapped. "Keep quiet and you'll get out of here alive."

Alive? _Get out_?

Rue's mouth shut with a click even though she had even less of an idea what was going on now. The helipad and everything else looked like a giant maze of shattered concrete floors with green liquid everywhere.

The men rushed her along, not giving a chance for Rue to catch her breath or see straight.

They suddenly slid to a stop when the gray eyed Lieutenant threw an arm in their way, and he craned his neck forward. For a few moments, they were all silent. Even Rue held her breath, hard as that was. She was close to tears again, and now she was freezing cold from getting wet.

"_Now_!" the gray eyed man hissed, and they suddenly jumped out, rushing towards a stand of deuce-type trucks that had been quickly driven together in a relatively clear and flat area. Men were occupied with working around it to clear a road way. They had had _how _long to get started? A few minutes, at _most_? Rue stared dazedly at the scene. It was almost unreal.

The three men rushed Rue towards the nearest one, and they quickly shoved her up under the fabric and into the backside. She crashed down into the bed of the truck, and twisted painfully to right herself. There were huge barrels of something-or-other packed inside as well.

"Now, listen to me," the Lieutenant hissed, having let the fabric fall back into place. Rue sat in the darkness and stared in the general direction of his voice. "Don't fuck this up; or if you do, don't tell them I helped you. This is a supplies convoy going back to Red Hind. Keep quiet and you won't get found out. When you leave the city, the road will start to twist. When it does, jump out to the side of the road - it's all snow so you won't get hurt. Got it? I can't help you past that."

"What? What are you talking about; who _are _you, _why are you helping me_!" Rue whimpered quietly, curling into herself. "What do I do after that?"

"I'm a friend of Elric's," the voice hissed. "Shut up and stay quiet!"

"Ye, yes sir…"

"Good girl. Good luck!" the voice said, and was gone. Rue sat quietly, shaking violently and staring into the faint outline of the Military's seal on a canister.

…What…what the _hell _just _happened_…

She looked down at her lap, where she still cradled the black orb in her hands. She was too tired to cry, and she sat there in a stunned daze.

I can't _believe_ I'm alive, she thought numbly. What's gonna happen _now_?

* * *

Yay. Kaboom! Rue's gonna summon Meteor on the Military (KIDDING). The girl doesn't even know how to use Materia, so...yeah. Lmao...oops. She does it on acccident. Oopsies...

Many things in history have been influenced by coincidences. Like the beginning of WWI - the killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was a complete coincidence. Assassins had already tried three times to kill him that day. Ferdinand's driver took a wrong turn (he realized this and yelled at the driver to go back), and Princip (who had participated in one of the failed assassinations earlier that day) was having a drink in a bar. He looked up and saw Ferdinand, ran outside and shot him.

Thus triggering some of the most monumental events of the 20th century.

And there's your history lesson of the day. Lol.


	5. Crash Course

I changed the title from _Requiem for a Dream_ to _Nostalgia of the Innocent_. I liked the latter title better.

In this chapter we advance the story more, and learn of how Sephiroth is to be returned to life. Whether or not anyone actually gives a goddamn, Sephiroth is revived in the next chapter. And there was much rejoicing...yaaay... (say it flat like Monty Python)

**Disclaimer**: Do I freaking sound like I own FFVII? Do I speak Japanese? No. Random words and phrases, and teaching myself to read doesn't cut it. I don't own it but I DO own anything you don't recognize. Cheers!

I reiterate that this story was made for my own amusement, and it is due to this sense of wishing to amuse myself that I put this online to view publicly. This is why I focus on more of an original storyline than aiming to please the masses, and why it doesn't bother or offend me in the least bit that I get very few reviews. I could be writing another run-of-the-mill Seph/Tifa fics (I love that pairing), but I'm no good at romance and I'm not going to try and trick you into thinking I am. Have fun, kids.

* * *

Major Milne listened in shock as his subordinate rattled off a disjointed and almost incomprehensible story.

"Wait, start again?" Milne asked, now thoroughly confused. "What the hell are you talking about, soldier?"

"Linton! It, it's been hit with an earthquake!" the man said.

"Linton's always had earthquakes. What the hell's so important about _this _one?"

"It's torn up _half _the city! We've lost contact with Pershing again and this time it ain't _us_!" the man said. "We can't tell who's alive or dead! Satellite picture's _shit_! It looks like half the city nearly caved in on itself and Lifestream's _everywhere_! The generators have overloaded and there's no power anywhere in that sector! Some of the buildings in the civilian sector have coll--"

"Spare me," Milne snapped. "What about Red Hind?"

"They didn't get any of it that we can see, sir," the man replied. "As far as we could tell, it was a localized quake."

"_Damn_," Milne muttered.

"…Sir, should we proceed?"

"What? _Of course_!"

The soldier seemed to jump at Milne's snarled retort.

"Yessir!" he replied. "We'll be ready in an hour or so. We'll wait for your orders."

Milne nodded. He'd continue with his orders, catastrophe or no. After all, there were no orders to the contrary and he was just as anxious as Pershing to see the results.

The Major turned and looked at the figure on the table in the middle of the room. It was almost unrecognizable as a body underneath all of the needles and diodes attached to it. Its dignity was solely preserved under a sheet that covered it from the waist to the knees, and even that had wires and tubes running underneath.

I can't believe that his muscles didn't at least _atrophy_, Milne thought. He sighed.

Milne was not kept entirely up to date on the procedures that were going to be employed to revive this man. All he knew was that it had something to do with the Jenova project and experimentation done on Sephiroth before he was born.

Kept on hand were heavy-duty sedatives, for when he was reanimated. He'd be kept drugged until he was needed; bringing him back to life early, or at least trying to, would give room for error.

After all, it wouldn't do to have him fully conscious. Chains wouldn't hold him for very long, and Milne couldn't very well ask him 'pretty please.'

"In an hour, sir?" Ms. Finn asked from the corner. Even though she was a normally placid woman, her eyes were shining with anticipation.

"In an hour."

"It's so exciting, sir!" she said, smiling warmly at the body. "I'm so honored."

Milne made a noncommittal grunt and excused himself from the room.

In one hour, history would be forever changed.

"Keep me posted on the Linton situation," he told his assistant, a young recruit named Perry Wilkes, who had quickly joined Milne. "Has security been reconfirmed?"

"Yes sir," Wilkes said. "Double checked."

"Good, tell them to stay on high alert. Even if contact with Pershing hasn't been reestablished in forty-five minutes, commence radio silence."

"Radio silence, sir?" Wilkes asked.

"Yes, did I stutter?" Milne asked calmly, and stared coldly at the man.

"No, sir. I'll alert communications."

Milne nodded, and continued along the hall.

* * *

Colonel Pershing was about half a hair's breadth from strangling the man in front of him.

"We've got teams at work right now, sir. If the Black Materia's still in the vicinity, we'll find it." To his credit, the soldier kept his chin up and his voice calm.

Pershing rounded on him viciously. "You'd _better_," he hissed. "What is the status of our equipment?"

"It's been badly damaged, sir," the man replied evenly. "But we're working with what we've got. We're trying to see if anyone's still alive inside the buildings."

Pershing glanced at his subordinate. Now was not a good time to lose his cool. Damn it! To find the damned Materia and then to lose it again…_damn _it!

He nodded. "Very well. Carry on, let me know if you find anything."

"Yes, sir."

Pershing looked out over the scene. Soldiers were rushing to contain the Mako leaks, and the ground itself looked like tossed salad.

_Damn _it all…

* * *

I wonder if we've left the city yet, Rue thought. It's not so loud anymore, and we've sped up.

Her breath came out in thick white clouds, testament to the below freezing temperatures she was trapped in.

She leaned forward, not of her own will. The truck was turning right, pretty sharply for these speeds. It evened out for a few moments and then Rue was pressed backwards so that she had to shove a canister away from herself with her legs to keep it from pinning her down.

I'll bet we're out of town, Rue thought, and the realization brought a numb feeling that couldn't be described. Since that guy said the road gets all bendy.

Rue leaned forward, inching towards the loose flap of fabric she'd been shoved through.

Timidly, she pulled it back, and white light invaded her darkness. _Pristine _white light.

She bent over further, and stared out the tiny peephole. It was a landscape of blinding whiteness, a shallow 'street' stretching behind her, and in the distance was a great gray edifice with a wall around it.

"That's the Bank One building!" she whispered, in utter awe. It took her a few moments to realize that what she was staring at were the outer walls of her city. She'd never left it before; it would have been against the law without a government pass.

It _is _against the law, she thought morbidly.

Rue fingered the black ball in her hand thoughtfully. I can't _believe _what I'm _looking _at!

When the truck swerved again, Rue was reminded of what the Lieutenant said. Jump out the back end of the truck into the snow.

If this were a caravan Rue's truck was the last in line, which was all the better.

Rue swallowed nervously. There was the chance she'd be seen jumping out the back end of the truck, but then it was only a chance. Waiting until they got closer to wherever they were going would make it much harder.

She pulled the fabric back further, and got up on her knees. The light was almost painful. She peered harder at the Troy-like walls of Linton, and wasn't sure what to feel. Should she be feeling happy? Scared? It was lost on Rue to know what to feel while seeing the outside of her own city for the first time. She'd only seen pictures of it once or twice in her life.

In all truth she felt more sad than she'd have liked. Jumping out of this truck would mean she'd leave behind everything she'd ever known and loved, come what may.

Then again, staying in it meant dying for them.

Rue glanced at the little black ball, then at Linton. I don't know what you are, but…

She stuffed the black marble down securely into her collar, and steadied herself to leap. She took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself down.

Just don't slip, she told herself. _Don't slip_.

When the truck swerved to the right, Rue hurled herself forward at the bank of snow with a grunt of effort, and landed solidly with her face down.

She waited in absolute stillness until she couldn't hear the trucks very well, and then she sat up. They were far away, and getting farther.

Rue glanced over her shoulder at Linton, whose cold walls towered impressively even at this distance. The wind was freezing, and relentless.

I'm really alone, she realized. I'm all…alone…

Suddenly, the silence seemed all the more painful.

She got up to her feet, and hugged her arms. I _wish _this were a dream…

* * *

"Exactly _how _are you going to bring Sephiroth's soul back from the dead?"

The man in charge of reviving Sephiroth had white hair and half moon spectacles, and a leering yellow gaze. He had a long beard and looked, for the most part, like a Santa Claus gone wrong. His name was Edward Carter.

Major Milne leaned in the doorway, glaring at the rotund man with intense dislike. As a soldier, it was his job to obey orders, but that didn't mean he had to _like _the arrogant fucks they told him to work with.

Professor Carter glanced up at the Major.

"You'll see soon enough," Carter said coolly, and squeezed himself into his favorite chair. "Haven't I already told you that it would be too hard to explain?"

"I'm sure I could piece it together," Milne snapped back at him. "We _do _speak the same language, after all."

"On the contrary," Carter said dryly, and turned away. "Gertrude, how are we with the Mako levels?"

Ms. Finn's voice threaded through the intercom. "We're stable!"

"Great," Carter replied.

"Pershing will be expecting a report, Carter," Milne snapped shortly. "He won't be happy if it's incomplete."

"Yes, that's right…you Military people always have to have your I's dotted and your T's crossed, eh?" Carter muttered, not really paying any attention. "Fine, if you absolutely insist on knowing, I'll give you the dumbed down version."

Milne, who was well aware that Carter's 'dumbing down' was being done less out of charity and more out of his belief that everyone was less intelligent than he was, gritted his teeth.

"As you know, Sephiroth was no ordinary man."

Milne knew that, every schoolchild on the planet knew that.

"I _know _that," Milne snapped. "That doesn't have a damn bit to do with getting his soul back from the Lifestream."

"It has everything to do with it!" Carter snapped imperiously. "His uniqueness is the very reason it's possible. His soul is different."

"Even if that _were _true, how does that tie into bringing him back to life?" Milne asked. "I don't see any magic circles to draw his soul up from the Lifestream."

"Don't _mock _me, Major," Carter warned. "A soul is matched to his body, and a soul stays close to where it was released from the body. That's why I specified we remain mountainside."

"What?"

"Generally speaking, a soul haunts the place where it died. Typical ghost cliché, major," Carter said bluntly.

"That has _nothing _to do with bringing a body back from the dead!" Milne snarled. "Get to the point!"

"Sephiroth actually died two times; one, at Nibelheim but he was able to maintain his soul within his body since he fell into the Reactor. But when he died the second time, his body and soul were separated."

"Even if you could revive his _body_, how are you supposed to get his soul?"

"A soul is drawn to its body, it's connected."

"…Are you're saying…once you revive the body the soul is going to be attracted to it?" Milne asked, a look of total incredulity on his face. It was a very strange theory, and he had no idea what to make of it.

"A soul can't remove itself from the Lifestream except in rare cases," Carter said. "So no, it's probably not going to fly up in a tangible form."

"What kind of rare cases are we talking?"

"Even _I'm _not sure," Carter said, shrugging. He barked adjustments to his team. "But no ordinary human is capable of it."

"So exactly _how _do you plan to revive Sephiroth?"

"I plan to reanimate his body, and wait for his soul to arrive."

"Isn't there a chance somebody else's soul could take over?"

"A certain key for a certain lock, Major," Carter said. "We'll be running Lifestream through Sephiroth to provide a conduit for his soul."

That explains the green tubing, Milne thought. "How certain are you that this is going to _work_?"

Carter glared at the man as if he were offended he was even doubted.

"You keep speaking in general terms, Carter. Why did you say Sephiroth was so unique, earlier?"

"Because it's possible to revive Sephiroth's body in the first place. He's been dead five hundred years, that's more of a permanent death than if you shot a man in the head five minutes ago."

Milne stared. "A dead man is a dead man!"

"If we took the body of…say, one of the members of Avalanche," Carter said, "And performed the same procedures on them as on Sephiroth, their body would be unable to handle it."

"Explain," Milne commanded.

"Sephiroth's body is infused with alien cells, Jenova cells, his very _essence _is, which provide for Sephiroth's ability to regenerate whether or not he's physically dead. _They _will respond to the treatments, and restart his body."

"Basically you're using jumper cables on a human being," Milne said.

"In a very, very small nutshell, that's precisely right, Major. I'm impressed," Carter said, though the compliment was only half hearted.

"And then you'll wait for his soul to travel through the Lifestream into his body. What happens when his soul returns to his body?"

"What is this entire experiment _for_, Major?"

"I _meant_," Milne snapped, clenching his fist though he was outwardly calm, "What happens to the Lifestream that's still running through Sephiroth when his soul reclaims his living body?"

Carter glanced at Milne. "Major, exactly how many questions do you intend to _ask_?"

"As many as I _want_, until I'm satisfied."

Carter's snort sounded like a foghorn. "You are a thorough man."

"I try."

"Major, either take a seat or get out," Carter snapped, turning his huge back to Milne.

Milne stepped into the room, glowering at Carter's audacity.

"I prefer to stand," Milne said coldly. He glanced at the operating room beyond the one-way mirror. "Proceed."

"I'm not a soldier, Milne, so I don't have my head up my ass until I get told to take it out again," Carter snapped. "Furthermore, you are not qualified to tell _me _when to jump."

"You _are _subject to my scrutiny," Milne shot back. "I am authorized to report any hints of - "

"You sound like a goddamn tape recorder, Major. I'm subject to the Military, but you haven't gone to scientist school and I don't think you have half a clue what's going on out there. So leave it to _me _to tell _them _what to do."

Milne stared at the Professor, who turned to his computer and flatly refused to acknowledge Milne.

"You don't actually _know _what will happen to Sephiroth, for sure, _do _you?"

* * *

Et voilà, the fifth chapter. I promise nothing bad will happen to our dear, precious Sephiroth. Can't say the same for the Military.


End file.
